I feel like this week has flown by! My mom was in NYC visiting this weekend, so our days were jam-packed with food and activities. She left Monday evening, which made it feel like a bit of a long weekend! (A long weekend in a good way, I mean…).

Hamilton

One of the highlights of the weekend was without a doubt getting last-minute tickets to see Hamilton. We originally tried to get tickets to the new hit, Come From Away, but found ourselves waiting in the cancellation line for Hamilton. After only a 45-minute wait, 6 of us were ushered in all at once to purchase tickets!

Our seats were pretty ridiculous. For only $220 each, we were given Centre Orchestra seats, two rows from the front. I was actually spat on by the performers. Slightly gross, but if I were a die-hard Hamilton follower you bet that would have been the highlight of my year.

There has been so much hype surrounding the incredibly popular musical, and it certainly lived up to it. The show was so fast paced and witty. I wasn’t previously aware that the entire musical was rapped/rhymed- talk about getting creative with sentences!

We tried the next day to get cancellation tickets for Come From Away, but weren’t so lucky this time. Getting tickets for Hamilton, let alone that seat quality was probably the score of the year!

Shopping

Whenever Mom comes to town, you’ve got to take advantage of her “company”, right? Usually I’m not in a huge shopping mood, and I let my mom go explore Nordstrom Rack/JCrew/Banana Republic while I do my workout, but this time I joined her for one of her shopping expeditions.

I nabbed the sneakers above from DSW, and love them so far. They make my size 10.5/11 size feet look small, which is a miracle in and of itself, and fit comfortably. I’m usually an Asics fan, but nearly every single shoe brand was out of a size 10.5, so I took the plunge and went for a Cloud Runner. They are extremely lightweight, and excellent for running. Lateral motion is a bit of a different story, so I may have to get another pair of shoes for cross-training.

My mom and I also spent a hot second (or two, or 5 million), at Lululemon. Since I wear workout gear every single second of every day, I spend a bit more than the average person on athletic clothing. It helps a lot having my sponsor for squash clothing and general training gear, but I do love the quality and fit of Lulu clothes.

I took a bit of a risk and bought this cropped white tank. It’s light and airy, and I think it will go well with high waisted leggings or shorts. (Speaking of taking risks… can you tell I don’t take mirror selfies often ever). This is where a hashtag #fortheblog, would come in quite handy.

Since I’m part of their new program called the Sweat Collective, I get 25% off of full priced items, which is a huge help. A couple of the items I bought were severely marked down (like a skirt for $29…), which is pretty unusual for Lululemon! Usually their markdowns are about $5 off maximum (…and yes I usually fall for that marketing gimmick).

The rest of the haul included:

2 skorts (for squash); one purple and one grey/black

1 dress (for squash)

the pair of high waisted “Speed” shorts in the above picture (they are high waisted, believe me… but I’m 5’9, so that term has a bit of a different meaning for me!).

a pair of blue Speed shorts

a grey tank top

All of this came to less than $300, which is crazy, considering at full price, I would have paid almost twice that amount.

Food

If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll see I’ve been posting some pictures/videos of my meals lately. My nutritionist has put me on a cyclic Keto-esque diet, meaning I’m supposed to alter my caloric intake based on my workout, as well as my macronutrient breakdown. If you’re not familiar with Keto (Ketogenic diet, or “Ketosis”), it’s basically a high-fat, moderate-protein, extremely low-carb diet. I’ll do a whole post about it soon, but so far it’s going pretty well!To make my “ket-oatmeal”, I combine the following:

flax meal (2 -4 Tbsp)

coconut flour (1/4 cup)

hot water

protein powder

optional: cacao nibs/almond butter/other toppings

also optional: egg whites

It’s really easy to make, and comes together in a flash. Just boil the water, and then add the flax meal and coconut flour at the same time. Cook on medium until it’s thickened, which should only take a couple minutes. Once it’s ready to go, stir in the protein powder at the last minute. If you’re adding egg whites, let those cook for a couple minutes as you whisk them into the mixture.

On Saturday, we sought refuge from the torrential downpour at the Penny Farthing, located in the East Village. We both ordered an omelette with peppers, ham, cheddar, onions, and avocado, and substituted the fries and toast for a side salad. I also ordered a side of bacon because… because…because… do I need a reason here?

Overall the weekend was a huge success, with good food (we had steak twice…), an excellent Broadway show, and of course, good company!